Inspire Days (Alumni)

My Alumni Events have become famous for the remarkable array of magical sessions that teach, provoke and inspire. And not only that the events are a chance to reconnect with existing friends and to make many more new connections. You will be stunned by the remarkable different ways in which people are using their NLP learning and it will be a melting pot of learning and love.  Be sure to book early as not only does the event get booked up very quickly but so do the flights and the local accommodation. When we held the last one in France every bed and breakfast in the area was overflowing with NLP learners!!! I am holding this one at the same venue as I used in 2019 – the beautiful La Meyfrenie. Join me in this wonderful rural part of South West France and be inspired!

Who will be there?

Gene Early

Gene might join personally but it is most likely to be via Zoom. As many of you know when Gene appears whether it is in person or online magic happens. Gene has been my mentor and guide and inspiration for 30 years … our story in that time is one of learning, laughter, deep insight, powerful change and love. Come and experience this for yourself.

Harry Key

50,000kms, 20 countries, 1 year, Sydney to London by Motorbike

We left Sydney at the end of May, and by the time we meet, we’ll have completed 90% of our Sydney to London motorcycle journey. It’s been tough, it’s been eye-opening, and it’s been fun. Larisa and I (Harry) are a couple who met in London and bonded over an idea of a giant overland motorcycle trip from London to Sydney. When we moved to Sydney, we reversed our trip, and here we are, (after some covid-related delays) finally doing that thing so many dream of.

Among the challenges, one of the biggest has been how we manage ourselves, and our moods, and how we treat each other. It can be really easy to get run down, underslept, and frustrated with the road, the traffic, the maps, and take it out on each other. Bureaucracy, poor maps, weather and tummy upsets can get in the way of enjoying yourself and being present to your partner. I personally like to take the barely-beaten tracks, that wind through mountains and away from civilisation. That’s where you can really feel like you’re stepping back in time. That does have its challenges though, and can stretch Liss’ motorcycling skills and strength and patience to its limit.

Among the most familiar themes on our trip, is that we meet other people who tell us how they always wanted to do something similar, and ‘never got around to it’. We didn’t want to be them.

And if you want to see how our journey has been so far .. check us out on Youtube Riding on Eggshells.

Juan Carlos Castañeda Diehl

How did I end up here – presenting on this event?!

“You don’t belong amongst these people”, said the inner voice. But for once –  and leveraging some anchors, I ended up ignoring that inner noise.

At the age of 40 I can say I have a comfortable life. Married, twin girls and a baby boy on his way (did I just say comfortable?), and a career in HR…– you can appreciate that it’s not because I try the opposite. I have a natural tendency to gravitate towards situations for which I cannot predict the outcome – not like putting a pea below my bed, but like the ones that make you learn.

I love learning. I am cursed with forgetting many things that I learn though, but one thing that sticks is that it’s about the journey. It’s about making this moment become a unforgettable memory. This is something that I have experienced every time I have had the privilege to join one of Sue’s trainings, and since I have been holding this belief, also in other events in my life.

After the pandemic, I decided that I wanted to explore a new facet of my life and I signed up for singing classes. I’m a heavy metal fan, so I was quickly attracted by all sorts of yelling and screaming. And since then, I have explored my voice and raised awareness around my body in ways that I had never previously thought. There is no “growling” school or university, no scientifically validated curriculum, so it’s about daring, listening to your body and finding your own balance.

I invite anyone who dares, to go through some simple steps to discover how to growl (safely!) and get to know parts of your body that you never knew before!

Graham Bower

You may have heard one of my cancer talks before. I’ve spoken at Sue’s events in the past about how I went through cancer treatment and recovery, the profound impact it had on my life, and the positive learnings I took from the experience.

A lot has changed since then, but one thing has remained the same. After all these years, I still do a two-hour workout every day. That’s two hours, every day, for fifteen years, with only a handful of days missed, due to travel and sickness.

I believe that living a healthy life is not about punishing ourselves with short term fixes, like grueling workouts or grim diets. And it’s definitely not about trying to lose weight or look a certain way. It’s about taking care of ourselves, which means being kind to ourselves. The key is to find healthy habits that bring us long-term joy and balance.

How do we do that? I have some thoughts I’d love to share on what’s worked for me. We all have different preferences and body types, so my choices might not be right for you. But maybe there is a more fundamental principle at work here. In this session, I’d like to explore how we can adopt health habits and stick with them for our entire lives.

Lesley McDonald

Hearing voices

Here I am, my client has just unexpectedly adjusted my hat from behind while telling the person next to him in the queue how much savings he has.

I have become accustomed to the unexpected, in a way it’s my new normal. I am used to bumps in the night, to finding drawers full of cigarette stubs, to rightfully refusing most of the requests that are made of me during a day. And as a bonus I got to spend a weeks holiday last year in St Andrews, when the annual fair was in town. Where rides on the ghost train were a daily highlight (though to be honest my first choice was the Bahamas!).

My life changed dramatically (and undoubtedly for the better 3 years ago when I make a decision to stop doing what I was doing, or more accurately, how I was doing it.

Years ago Frank Farrelly (Master of Provocative Therapy) had given me this advice. It only took me 14 years to really listen and act on it!

Unusual doors can open in our lives. The question is whether we choose to say Yes to them when they do.

Come and hear my story – it might prompt you to find a new open door in your life. Or maybe you already have. In which case you can back me up on the day!

Sue & Ramesh
Climb that mountain!

“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that Goddamn mountain.”
– Jack Kerouac

That was my intention literally to climb up Megalamai – a mountain carved with hair pin bends winding to the top. I cracked on the lower slopes. I blame the bronchitis I had travelled out with, and the intense heat and my lack of belief .. I had been worrying about this particular day for some time.

I was on the Tour of Tamil Nadu and Kerala  an 8 day cycle trip totalling — a particularly challenging route and a chance to experience the beauty of the tea plantations in Munnar (and the slightly cooler temperatures there).

‘They’ say that the cyclist who succeeds is the one who can tolerate the most pain. Why am I doing this?!! Well the year previously had been filled with training rides and climbs so I came to this fitter than I have probably felt in my life (before the bronchitis hit and even then I think my recovery was faster than many who had the same bug). And the days when I managed to pull myself to the top were days of joy. Well the days were joy filled anyway and the room sharing with my special friend Kanchan were fun and filled with learning (there is no one else I would choose to share a room with!! Though travelling in India in this way it is often expected.

And I was not by any means alone (one never really can be in India!!) my colleague and special friend Ramesh joined me. And that is another story. We will tell you our story together!!

These times of cycling are some of the most intense learning times of my life.

Ramesh says:

As the eldest child at home, I grew up with a belief that as a man I mustn’t cry whatever be the situation as it was considered as a sign of weakness and not strength. And I hid behind that belief for a long time in my life…putting a brave face all the time.

The way we do one thing is the way we do everything is a statement is a statement that I hooked on to when I heard it for the very first time. And when I reflect back on that statement and the belief, I held about crying I think I hid a lot of things that were I thought were supposed to be sign of weakness. The cycling trip I took along with Sue Knight climbing those mountains in the Tour of Tamilnadu which I never imagine of doing it in the first-place change everything. What unfolded is what I wish to share in the company of Sue Knight.

And my son James Knight

Hear his story and his experience of corporate and independent life subsequently … hear about trust and leadership  and how humour played such a part and how can you learn from all this in your quiet regular lives!!! Come and find out.!!! Discover the things that you won’t hear in the regular press …. and his is a remarkable example of leadership .. how might you apply this to your situations ..?

Jean Jimmy

So now you are in France!!

And you think you can speak French (or would like to get by!). Well as we know there is so much more than we learn at school! And there is always a local etiquette which it helps to know if you don’t want to be considered one of those ‘rude’ foreigners! Now is your chance to learn from someone whose style of teaching is special too …. You know me it is never just to do with the content! So grab your berets and your onions and join Jimmy Jean!! One of the best French teachers I Know.

Sue Knight
My journey with Frank

I have often taught Provocative Coaching and in that process you will have heard some of my story of the times I spent with Frank over more than 20 years. It was a remarkable journey to which I owe so much of the way I work and live my life to day More than anything i learned how to be free. Come and let me tell you about that journey … and walk with me metaphorically as I do.

Merav Israel
Awareness through Movement – the Elusive Obvious

About The Feldenkrais Method®

The Feldenkrais Method@ is at the leading edge of somatic learning and is based on the work of Dr Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-84). The method is based on the connection between mind and body as one flow between thinking, sensing, feeling, and moving. We can change our thinking and self-image through movement and change our movement through thinking and imagining.

This experiential learning happens through a collection of lessons called Awareness Through Movement® that offer us the conditions in which we can develop awareness, self-knowledge and experientially learn new ways of moving, thinking, and being in the world. Through these lessons we can immediately recognise and experience new possibilities available to us and that are applied to our everyday life and movement.

Connection mind and body hold the key to emotional balancing, resilience, and self-mastery. Connecting us to our internal intelligence and emotional and physical expanded sense of freedom and choice.

The group lessons will be about 1 hour long. I will verbally guide you into explorations of movement sequences that are comfortable and easy and which gradually evolve into greater range and complexity. The lessons will be either lying down on a mat on the floor or in seated position. Please wear comfortable clothes for movement.

I will also available for one-to-one sessions which you are welcome to book. These sessions are tailored to your specific needs and involve verbal guidance and gentle touch where I will lead you to more efficient organisation and use of yourself. You can bring varied questions and wishes to these sessions – from a wish to find easier sitting or walking to improve posture or understand better recurring injuries that need a fresh perspective and ways of healing. You can also simply book your session just for fun and to feel more relaxed and refreshed.

About me:

I’m a Feldenkrais Method practitioner and Gestalt Therapy Counsellor based in Edinburgh. I have a private practice where I see people for one-to-one sessions and for group classes.
I’ve been a dance artist most of my adult life. I teach somatic movement, improvisation and engage in dance making and choreography.

Huw in India
Sea, Sand and History

In my session I will be sharing some photos and videos from my winter stay in Cherai in India in 2022/23. I will be sharing some observations and thoughts on India in general and Kerala (known there as God’s Own Country).

A taster

If geography is the study of space in history, then history is the study of time in geography. And thus history and geography are two sides of the same coin. In order to study a culture we must travel, whatever the means, in time and space.

I spent a lot of time on the beach and the beach sands are forever moving. We will look at them, from Fort Kochi passing through Vypin Island to the lost port of ancient Muziris, buried long ago somewhere under Kodungallur. They are here and they are the sands of time.

From sardines to sword-fish and sharks we will look at fishing and fishing people and wonder what they have been and what they will become.

Some questions we can explore:

• Why and how do so many disparate religions come to this part of the world?
• Whatever happened to the wandering Jew?
• What is it to be street-wise and be able to simultaneously brush your teeth?!!.
• What are cultural differences, and why bother about them ?

Undoubtedly there will be more resulting from your questions to which there may even be some answers.